Henley brewer and pub operator Brakspear once again supported the town’s Club to Pub Swim, which took place for the third year at the end of July, in near-perfect conditions for the 500-plus contestants. With temperatures of 30 o on land and 21o in the Thames, and the sun still shining as the race ended at around 8.00pm, the event was declared the ‘best yet’ by many competitors and spectators.
This year’s swim attracted double the number of entries of the 2015 competition, reflecting the growing popularity of the event, which is designed to appeal to all levels of swimmer, and is an excellent introduction to open water swimming. In the two years since it was founded, with Brakspear’s support, it has become a firm favourite with swimmers in and around Henley as well as further afield; last month’s swim included visitors from Edinburgh and Australia.
All who completed the 1.5km course were rewarded as they climbed out of the Thames with a bottle of Two Bells, the beer brewed at Brakspear’s Bell Street Brewery in Henley every year for the swim, and a medal with an integral bottle opener for instant refreshment. The race ended at the Angel on the Bridge, which hosted a party for swimmers and their supporters.
Winning the men’s race in an impressive 18:46 was Charles Cousins, a former Team GB rower who took up open water swimming this year after injury prevented him from going to the Rio Olympics. Close behind him was the winning woman, Lucy Campbell, on 18:48.
Brakspear’s support for the event this year extended to joining it, as finance director David Nathan, marketing assistant Kate Thomas completed the swim.
Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive, said, “The Club to Pub Swim has quickly established itself as a firm favourite on the Henley calendar, as evidence its growth from under 200 contestants in Year 1 to more than 500 this year.
“We’re delighted to have been part of this event’s development and look forward to the 2017 swim – in fact, we’re already planning to brew more ‘Two Bells’ to sell at the after-party as it sold out within an hour to our thirsty swimmers.”